What To Know:
- Telegram has launched Cocoon, a privacy-preserving AI computing network built on The Open Network (TON).
- The network allows developers to run AI models without relying on centralized servers, while GPU providers earn TON tokens for contributing computing power.
- Telegram plans to integrate Cocoon across its mini-app and bot ecosystem, aiming to bring 300 million users into the TON ecosystem by 2028.
Telegram is taking a major step toward combining social media, payments, and artificial intelligence under one roof. At the Dubai Blockchain Life conference, founder Pavel Durov announced the launch of Cocoon, a privacy-preserving distributed computing network built on The Open Network (TON).
Telegram’s AI Computing Network on TON
The Cocoon network is designed to create a decentralized AI inference platform where developers can run machine-learning models without relying on centralized servers. GPU providers will earn TON tokens by contributing computing power, and user data will remain encrypted locally. This means AI applications on Telegram could work without exposing sensitive information to large corporate data centers.
Telegram will be the first major user of the Cocoon network, incorporating it across its growing mini-app and bot ecosystem. With over one billion users worldwide, the company aims to make private computing an accessible part of everyday communication. TON serves as the backbone of this infrastructure, processing payments, verifying ownership, and managing transactions that connect users, developers, and service providers.
The initiative is part of Telegram’s broader effort to position TON as its official blockchain partner. Earlier this year, TON became the sole blockchain infrastructure supporting Telegram’s mini-apps, giving developers an on-chain base for payments, gaming, social rewards, and digital collectibles. Together, the two platforms share an ambitious target, to bring 30% of Telegram’s user base, or roughly 300 million people, into the TON ecosystem by 2028.
Behind the strategy lies a simple premise i.e., social interaction can be the gateway to Web3. Telegram’s messaging interface already enables wallet integration and instant peer-to-peer transfers. Users can send “on-chain red envelopes,” top up their balances through USDT bank cards, or move assets with a single click in chat. A new gas-free stablecoin transfer feature will soon allow users to make payments without handling transaction fees.
On the investment side, TON’s DeFi and RWA (real-world asset) segments are developing steadily. The TON Wallet’s “Earning” module offers stable returns through products such as USDe, with yields in the range of six to nine percent. Telegram corporate bonds and tokenized assets are expected to follow. The DEX infrastructure has already been upgraded with CFMM and CLMM models, and TONCO, which is one of the leading decentralized exchanges in the ecosystem, now handles nearly 30% of all trading volume.
The ecosystem also extends to digital identity and NFT-based social assets. Telegram Gifts, described by Durov as “social-native NFTs,” are now used as profile collectibles to express personality and status. Their popularity has led to thriving secondary markets, where some limited-edition items trade for thousands of dollars. New protocols such as NFT 2.0 aim to support creators by enabling continuous royalties and leasing models for IP-based assets.
Yet the new computing layer marks a turning point. By introducing Cocoon, Telegram is expanding beyond social finance into AI infrastructure. The idea is to allow developers to build “AI companions,” decentralized inference services, and intelligent mini-apps while keeping data fully private. Users could one day train and trade AI characters, tokenized and secured through TON, forming what TON Foundation calls a new “agent economy.”
To support this next wave of development, the foundation has structured a three-stage “service triangle” for teams building on TON. The incubation phase offers mentoring and roadshows; the growth phase provides visibility through official endorsements; and the maturity phase connects projects to venture capital and global exposure. A major hackathon planned for next year will focus on AI Agent Bots, seen as the next growth engine of the Telegram-TON ecosystem.
John, the Asia-Pacific Head of the TON Foundation, highlighted that the network’s future rests on four principles i.e., payments, privacy, retail accessibility, and compliance. The Asia-Pacific region remains central, given its experience with mini-apps and social payment systems. “When social distribution and privacy computing form a closed loop,” he said, “TON can advance simultaneously in payments, DeFi, real-world assets, and AI.”
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